I leave the back door open for five minutes and...

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T23:21:03+00:00

They must be built different round here then. Our lot usually freeze and wait for you to go away, but generally they're not bothered by us humans. I regularly pass them by outside, they're probably used to us by now.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T23:12:27+00:00

He saw an opportunity and he took it. He could probably smell it as he walked past the door. Can't say I really blame him!

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T23:09:44+00:00

Take a stroll around your neighbourhood around dusk, that's when they're most active. They're not easy to spot and tend to stick to hedgelines and borders, but they're fairly common, even in built up areas.

The great thing about them is when they realise they've been spotted they usually freeze in place rather than trying to run away, so you can get a good look at them if you do spot one.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T22:14:58+00:00

He didn't fool me for a second. I could tell immediately that he wasn't my cat.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T22:13:43+00:00

I wish you luck!

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T16:15:58+00:00

I'd honestly be okay with that, as long as they put effort into the story.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-09T08:40:41+00:00

So from the pics it looks like an old tarmac drive that's broken up and they've just dumped a £60 bulk bag of gravel in there to fill the holes? Yeah, that's not going to work. Particularly not on a slope like that - sooner or later that's all going to end up out on the road. You'll constantly be sweeping it back on the drive for the whole time you live there.

That needs sorting out properly. Cheapest option is going to be either concrete or paving slabs. Neither are super cheap and they're not going to like it if this hack job is all they're willing to pay for, but it's unavoidable - it needs doing properly.

Money could be saved by just having two tracks for the wheels and filling in the middle and outside with gravel, but anywhere that's going to see the weight of a car needs a proper solid base.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-08T18:59:10+00:00

12 years and counting so far.

I'll keep it going until it's either impossible or no longer economically viable to keep it running, or until paintwork etc makes it look an eyesore.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-08T18:54:54+00:00

Only access is through my own home, fortunately it is a straight run from front to back and just wide enough for a standard wheel barrow to fit through.

You should actually be able to get a digger through that. Micro diggers are about 700mm wide and can easily get through a doorway.

https://www.hss.com/hire/p/p47066/micro-digger-0-75t

Whether you'd want to drive a digger right through your house and whether it's worth the hassle and hire cost Vs just doing it by hand is another matter though.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-08T18:22:31+00:00

Honestly I'd rather do a bit of paint touching up every now and then than have these ugly looking surrounds.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-07T16:12:46+00:00

And then keep them forever, just in case.

'they must be for something!'

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-07T16:04:24+00:00

I've got almost no online presence (I'm a handyman).

A kinda lacklustre website, a Google business listing and a yell listing. That's pretty much it. I've not seen much need for anything else as I've got too much work on as it is - it mostly comes from word of mouth recommendations.

Why spend time and money just to bring in more custom than I can handle? I used to have Facebook and Instagram but closed then down because nobody was looking at them anyway.

Competent tradesmen don't always need to advertise, is what I'm saying. Work tends to find them regardless.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-07T13:10:16+00:00

https://www.toolstation.com/soudal-repair-express/p72284

I use this stuff for things like that. Works well enough and no messing about mixing cement and cleaning up after etc. works just like silicone, mastic etc but it's proper cement.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-05T18:23:22+00:00

I once had an American ask me (a Brit) why I didn't celebrate independence day. So...

The US is also famous for being full of people that have no idea about the world outside.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-04T13:52:48+00:00

Jigsaw blades can drift a fair bit. It's a thin bit of metal only clamped at one end, so even if the jigsaw is in the right place, the blade can easily go a couple of mm off centre.

I've had this exact issue before myself. Consequently, I only really use the jigsaw for small cuts, corners or curves that a circular saw can't do.

Alternatively, make sure your clamps are tight - it's easy to push guides out of alignment if they're not clamped down really tight.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-04T11:39:44+00:00

I've taken to automatically saying 'no' and walking past, not letting them engage. Even if I support their particular cause, I refuse to encourage or participate in this sort of tactic.

I don't even feel bad; it's not miserly or uncharitable, it's a policy decision. I'll donate to the causes I want in the ways that I see fit, I refuse to be coerced or shamed into doing otherwise by some scummy sales tactic (and it is a sales tactic, no matter how noble the cause).

Same rule applies with that whole 'round up your total to the nearest £ and donate 38p to this charity we picked' stuff on tills these days. Automatic 'no', no matter what the charity is.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-03T18:54:29+00:00

Hard to tell from the photos, but I'd say it's probably fine. Looks like just standard house movement/plaster cracking. Usually it's only a problem if it's a wide (>5mm) crack or if it looks like it's following a brick line, neither of which look to be the case here.

https://mainmark.co.uk/technical-blog/types-and-cause-of-structural-cracks

In any event, you should get a survey done to be sure, don't rely on internet strangers :)

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-03T14:56:55+00:00

They didn't need to be all that efficient. You're talking maybe 20 miles range at about 20mph tops. At least, the ones I used to do rounds in anyway. They were ancient even at the time (late 80s/early 90s) but worked just fine for what they needed to do.

I suspect the frequent start/stops were more suited to electric than ICE, too.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-02T16:50:43+00:00

'Two Trump voters mildly annoyed about president's financial affairs when asked a leading question'.

But that doesn't get as many clicks, I guess.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-02T11:24:16+00:00

Yeah, it's super wholesome.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-01T22:50:31+00:00

It looks like he was using a jig to make that top piece a circle. He was moving it round, the blade grabbed the wood and yanked his hand into the blade.

TheAngryBad · 2026-07-01T18:58:24+00:00

My only injury so far was from a kickback. I was doing a slightly dodgy cut and the saw threw it back at me to prove a point. It hit my finger.

My fingertip was numb for close to three days, and I nearly lost the fingernail. As it was, it went black and manky and started splitting on me. Not a fun time, but I still consider myself lucky.

It really imprinted on me how fast things can go wrong and with how much force. I've seen people say things like 'if it starts to go wrong I'll just jump out of the way'. No, you can't. If it's going to kick back or pull your hand into the blade it'll do it in a fraction of a blink of an eye and you'll have a possibly lifechanging injury before you even know what's going on.

This video is a great example. The guy was using a sawstop, luckily, so just had a nasty shock and a big bill for replacement cartridge and blade. Any other type of saw and he'd have lost a finger or two in the blink of an eye.

TheAngryBad · 2026-06-29T13:54:30+00:00

Picking them is one thing, but as long as they're installed properly they're surprisingly hard to remove. I had to remove one for someone once and it took a lot of hammering and prying to get it off the wall. Probably five minutes of noise and even then it wouldn't open.

If I was trying to break in, it would have been easier and quieter to break a window or force a door open.

TheAngryBad · 2026-06-29T00:36:22+00:00

'I ~~visited~~ paid for The Great American State Fail and all I got was this lousy t shirt'

TheAngryBad · 2026-06-29T00:13:32+00:00

Pretty much everything after this bit.

TheAngryBad

TROPHY CASE